Travel Stories and Photos by Tara Taft

When Peaches and Blueberries Are in Season

I love peaches, and I love blueberries. So when mid-summer happens, and the fruit is ripe, I’m in heaven. Last week, I bought peaches and blueberries from two local farm stands, a lemon and a few other ingredients from the supermarket, and set out to create a gluten-free, nut-free peach blueberry crisp.

I was bringing the only dessert to a party of 12 so I wanted to make a lot. With a pint of blueberries and about nine peaches, I was ready to begin.

I washed the peaches and cut them into chunks, leaving the skin on. In a large bowl, I added a pint of rinsed and stemmed blueberries to the peaches along with the grated lemon rind and lemon juice. I tasted the fruit. It was so sweet, I was afraid to add too much sugar; just a ¼ cup went into the bowl.

For the crisp, I mashed a stick of butter with a cup of brown sugar before adding the flour, nutmeg, and oatmeal. Though I started out using a fork, I found it much easier to use my fingers to blend the topping. Since my 13 x 9-inch pan was already in use, I buttered two 9-inch cake pans and filled them evenly with the fruit before covering them with the crisp topping.

After baking at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, the crisps were brown and bubbly.

At the party, the crisp was devoured, and the recipe was requested. Yum! Oh, and I never mentioned they were gluten free, and no one ever asked.

Blend the dry ingredients with the butter until the mixture is coarse and clumpy. Add the fruit to one large (13 by 9-inch) or two small (8 by 8-inch square or 9-inch round) pans. Cover with the topping and bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes.